The Nest Schools Highlands Ranch - Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Lyndsey O

We had a terrible experience when Nest purchased Highlands Ranch learning center.
The children were put in so many, unbelievably unsafe situations. Half of the staff left. And for us, after the shut down of the school due to lack of licensing for the renovations, it was time to leave immediately. (August 2024). Before it closed, there were major safety concerns. Outside cameras taken down outside, without parents knowing. Front door constantly being propped open and the front desk being empty often. The paint fumes were outrageous. Screws and other pieces being found around school. Teachers being unable to reach front desk for bathroom breaks and support. Just to mention a few.

The amount of perfectly good books, cribs, clothing, furniture and other items that were thrown in the trash was disgusting. I literally begged (multiple times) to not only people in admin at the school, but the actual Regional Director, to please let me know before they throw out the cribs and books. (A teacher shared with me they, The Nest, was planning on throwing everything in the trash). I offered to arrange pick up to donate to local families and organizations. I offered to pay for and coordinate anything. Days later I came to drop off my son and a dozen baby cribs were outside, rain damaged. Later that week hundreds of books were outside in the parking lot / trash area. Unusable and so damaged from the rain the night before. This is just a single example of what The Nest did. I also told the Regional Director that I reached out to Little Free Library, and I wanted to set up multiple in Highlands Ranch with the books that they were getting rid of. They threw them outside. And all of them were completely ruined.
A big corporation comes bs takes over an established, family owned business and doesn’t care about anyone or anything over than profit. I hope families there are having a better experience, but please watch out. The red flags are not a coincidence.
The pictures I’ve added are from TWO days. Only two. We would come every single day and there were be different things outside. Teachers were scolded for trying to give things to parents. One teacher was let go for giving away Lego to a family.
I’m sure someone from The Nest will come on here and try to defend the actions or say the things I’ve said are not true, but If they’d like, I can ask other parents with similar experiences to come on here and also share their stories. I have had two kids go to this school as Highlands Ranch Learning Center and then one of them there for when Nest purchased the location. We were there for 6 years. We watched this place crumble. It was so sad and so unsafe for our kids. Like I said, I hope you’re having a better experience now, but I’ve lost sleep over not sharing what happened to us at this school and needed to make sure our story and experience was shared.

Alicia Pawlowski

We moved our daughter to The Nest about two months ago, and came from a daycare where the administration was impossible to get a hold of, and where updates in general (including incidents) were lacking. We have been so impressed so far with The Nest; the administration is not only very responsive and quick with their replies, but are also super friendly. Our daughter is in the infant rooms and we really like the teachers there (who not only seem to genuinely care), but also provide lots of updates throughout the day. Everyone has been exceedingly kind, and we appreciate that part-time options are offered here as well. The fact that everything inside and outside of the building is all new as well is just icing on the cake. Would highly recommend The Nest based on our experiences so far!

Catherine Barner

We really love this place and that's saying a lot. This is our third daycare center and we're just constantly impressed with the teachers and overall organization. We have a child in both the young preschool room and the infant room and the teachers are fantastic. They really care about our kids and it's so different from some of our previous daycare experiences.

We weren't there for the switch from HRLC to Nest, and I understand that was a difficult period for the families that rode it out. But coming from a different corporate daycare that refused to repair the playground for over a year and fired five directors in a year, Nest is really showing its commitment by the amount of money they're committing to this school. The furniture, the toys, the cribs, everything is new. The playground is being totally redone and the renditions look really neat.

They also really strive for cleanliness and hygiene. There are air purifiers everywhere, hand washing is a constant, even for the infant room, and I constantly see the teachers washing toys. We've been here for two months and our kids still haven't come home sick. It's a miracle really, again, compared to our past experiences.

We are also impressed by the photos we get throughout the day with the curriculum for our young preschooler. The teachers really engage them in learning activities and we're impressed by the thought and organization.

Overall we're so happy we switched to this place. We really hope that Nest strives to keep their current teachers.

S Short

In the summer I had an experience with the Highlands Ranch location. The Nest schools took over as owners of our daycare on 07/13/2024.

And by then end of July the facility was shut down due to "building renovations and construction are posing a safety risk to children in care" .

Our kids were shuffled to other locations and then we quickly lost 12 staff members, including the director and assistant direction.

The acquisition brought a lot of questions about the company and business model in general.

So I did some research and just wanted to share some information:

The Nest schools are in the portfolio of a Private Equity Firm. I am not a finance person, but a definition is that the intent of Private Equity is to invest in companies that aren't in the public market and "raise and manage funds to yield favorable returns for shareholders, typically with an investment horizon of four to seven years".

If interested you can do a quick google search on the complexities of Private Equity in childcare. There are some great informative articles. Before this I personally had no idea.

I also learned that Sale-Leasebacks are a strategy for these Private Equity companies to make a profit.

Currently, there are two locations for sale on loopnet.com. One for the Aurora location (which is on probation via Colorado Shines) is for sale for 4.8 million dollars and the other is the Centennial location for 4.5 million dollars. Both with and an investment highlight 2% yearly rental increases.

So at minimum, that is a likely 2% tuition increase per year. However, in over 8 years with kids in daycares, I have seen more than just that for annual increases. Think about that and keep that in mind when you receive annual tuition increases.

Hope this helps! Although less abundant, if you have a choice, look for locally owned and operated centers.

Plum Creek

What a GREAT school!!! I'm an elementary school teacher and I am more than impressed!! My kids are actually learning something at this school! They have a curriculum program that is incredible. The school has up to date technologies (iPads + whiteboards) which will make my children's transition into elementary schools so much easier. We were referred by a neighbor and could not be happier! Our neighbor's children grew up there, graduated, and are excelling in their elementary schools. Any bad reviews are a SHOCK to me!!! 5-STARS all the way!!!! I only wish my kids would have started their school experience here. Our other school experience didn't even compare! Glad we moved here and that this school is so close!!! Looking forward to swimming lessons this summer!!!

ASMR TRENT

This is the most amazing place to send your child for learning and childcare. They are friendly and professional. They have a wonderful app to use, to stay informed, and send you pictures of your kid almost everyday. They didn't miss a beat, when Covid hit, they solved problems, and added new programs. They are amazing and take the time to really help your child learn and grow and feel loved. Thank you miss Lisa and miss Teresa for everything.

Daireus Mann

This is such a great school. We referred by our neighbor and another friend who had kids that go here. The staff is amazing and the care and curriculum they provide for preschool and pre-K is great. We could not be happier with a preschool.

Carla Bennett

Our son attended HRLC for nearly 3 years, and we only left because we moved across the country. I would recommend HRLC to anyone I know. Overall, the teachers are incredible and were by far the highlight of our experience here. Our son learned so much from HRLC, and we felt confident leaving him with them every day knowing that he was not only safe, but also growing emotionally and intellectually.